Perhaps you have experienced a spring flood caused by snow melt and rain backing up local waterways. Or maybe it was a winter flood caused by frozen pipes or jammed gutters. Or, equally awful, maybe it was a summer storm-fueled flash flood accompanied by strong winds and a power outage.

Any way it arrives, flood damage can be a home wrecker. But don’t worry. You can recover from a flood as long as there is no structural damage.

The simplest solution is to call a company that specializes in flood abatement. These experienced professionals can not only handle the hard work involved in restoring your home or business, but they also handle the phone calls to your insurance company. Often it just takes one call and one signature to get yourself the peace of mind you need to get back to normal as quickly as possible.

Pretty quickly you can get your home back in top shape. You just need to roll up your sleeves and follow these steps.

The Do It Yourself Flood Clean-up

First, remove all standing water. This might require shop vacs, or opening up a clogged drain in your basement.

Then remove all the debris that may have come in with the flooding. In this step, you will also want to remove goods damaged by the floodwaters including most paper products, electronics, and upholstered furniture.

Then clean all the items that were touched by floodwater with a solution of water with about a capful of bleach per gallon of water. This bleach will work to kill any bacteria that was carried in the floodwater and will prevent future health problems.

Inspect studs and determine if they can be kept. The drywall will have to be replaced above the water line. This is because some of the drywall can wick water up into spaces that were higher than the water line. If more than a few inches of water got in, the drywall will likely have to be completely replaced. You might be able to keep wood footers and framework if it was fully painted or stained and there are no signs of warping.

Then, once the space is cleared out and your framework is completely dry, you can rebuild. Take advantage of this time to re-imagine the space and add in any details – no sense missing the chance to make your life a little easier moving forward.

You can repair some flood damage yourself.

Photo by Chris Gallagher on Unsplash